Pneumatically-operated musical apparatus.



, P. EUSUS 6U A. BROWN.

PUEUUxncf-ULv UPERATEU MUSICAL APPARATUS.

t l 4 A APPLICATIUU mio JULY'L1915. j 1 mi fLQK atemeo. fw, mig.

3 SHEETS--SHET l.

J. P. EUSUS A. BROWN. PNEUNATICALLY OPER/WEL) MUSlCM. FPABMUS.

3 SHEETS-SHEE 2.

T. BROWN.

PNEUMATICALLY OPERATED MUSICAL APPARATUS.

1.?. www A.

UNTTED sTATEs PATENT Ormea.

JOHN r. EU'S'TIS, or NEWTON, AND VALBERT T, BROWN, or ARLINGTON, MASSACHU- f snrrs, AssreNoRs'To a. r. EUSTIS MFG. COMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION 'or MAINE.

PNEUMATIGALLY-OPERATED MUSICAL APPARATUS.l

Specification of LettersiPatent. Patented De-c. 25, 1917.

Application lci July 7, 1915'. Serial N'o. 38,497. Y

To all whom it may concern; y

Be it known that We, JOHN P. vEus'ris and ALBERT T.V BROWN, citizens; of the United States Of America, residing, respectively,at Newton, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, and Arlington, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pneumatically-Operated 'Musical Apparatus, of which the following is aV description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification. n e This invention relates to pneumatically operated musical apparatus of the class in which the pneumatic mechanism is located Within the case of a piano or similarly operated instrument, although the invention i's equally applicable tO the class in which a separate case containing the actuating mechanism is moved up to the keyboard Of a piano or similarly operated instrument.

In most constructions of 'such apparatus,

i the Wind chest and adjacent parts, such as the end cheeks'orend boxesare made of Wood and the tracker tubes vare made of rubber. Where the Wind' chest'and cheeksare made of Wood, the Walls thereof are necessarily thick, and the necessary holes and bores which arecut into the Wood aresomewhat rough, sO-that the currents of airpassing through them create considerable lfric,- tion on account of the surface resistance.

In our copendingV application serially numbered 770,140, 'filed May 27, 1913, We have vshown and described such parts as constructed of sheet metal and particularly of sheet brass, With the result that the length and friction in the Wind passages is considerably reduced, as the holesare in thin metal and not in thick Wood, and the metallic Walls'of the holes may be' made smooth. Other'parts of said applicationy are devoted to a showing and description of Vinetallic leak proof joints, andY the improv-ed construction of Wind chest and end cheeks bv which the parts, althoughreduced 1n -I compass, give more 'efficient service, through' the reduction of friction between aircur- Vrentsand the Walls ofthe passages through 'which the currents move. All of theseimprovements are applicable in a considerable measure to the present invention. e

Brassjbeing an expensive metal and considerable brass `being required to construct an apparatus in accord with our 'before mentioned application, We have conceived the idea of making the brass parts, or most of them, of alhigh grade of sheet steel, with or Without a coating of copper, nickel, lacquer, enamel', or the like, Which in some cases may 'consist of an electro-plating.

AsY Steel cannot be Worked'prccisely as brass vWe have found it desirable to alter the construction of certain' parts mentioned in our before mentionedl application and to invent neivj means and methods of producing such means for accomplishing theobjects ofthe invention set forthin Saidl application. At the same time it'became possible to simplifypthe construction and the method of construction, and also to -`make changes resulting in appreciable economy of metal and consequently inl reductionin the Weight ofthe apparatus. l"

As a result We have produced an apparatus which mayV be constructed' of a cheaper metal and produced by vmore economical methods, and which will givey as goodand possibly better service," produce as vfine a tone as, and be easier` tol handle than, the

more expensivek construction.'

Therefore, as will be perceived 'from thev foregoing'exempliicatiom objects of ourr invention are to construct an apparatus, of

the kind under consideration, embodying less expensive metal, such as high grade sheetiron or steel, to simplify the constructions of the several parts of the apparatus, thus' reducing the cost of production 'and the total-Weight', and to produce said parts and apparatus 'by moreeconomical methods, all of'vvhich tend to reduce the ultimate'lcost of an apparatusof.thecharacter described.4 'Referring to the drawings-f Figure ,l :is "af-rontf diagrammatic vievv'of a wind chest and some adjacent parts, including pneumatics, tracker board and rolls, as constructed in accord with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of a slit pin or bolt hereinafter to be referred to;

Fig. 3 is an end view on a larger scale and partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective View of the underside 0f a part of a wind-chest and attached parts;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a part of a wind-chest and attached parts;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation, partly broken out, of a part of a wind-chest and one end cheek, showing the joints between these parts; and Y Fig. 7 is an end view showing a modification of' a part of a wind-chest casing embodying an integral construction.

In the following description we will refer to sheet steel as the material of which various parts are made. We do not desire to limit ourselves, however, to the use of sheet steel, as the scope of our invention in many respects contemplates the use of brass or any suitable sheet metal; for example, sheet iron compositions and other compositions of the general nature of sheet steel, which can be bent, struck up, punched and joined as can sheet steel, which is the preferred material.

The parts also may be coated or electroplated throughout either before or after joining or both, the main consideration being the protection of the material against deterioration and to prevent leakage, and another consideration being the appearance, in which preferences may vary.

10 is the upper wind chest and 11 is the `lower wind chest, parallel and communicating with, connected toand .spaced from, each other, by hollow steel braces or columns 14 having enlarged or pedestal ends 15, each wind chest beingconstructed of a suitable main casing bent up from a single piece of sheetsteeland an auxiliary sheet steel casing plate, channel shaped in cross section.

The corresponding Yends` of the wind chests are secured to and communicate with end cheeks or `boxings 12 and 13, hereinafter more fully described, and all of thesey parts are brazed or soldered together, and may be coated with enamel or other smooth surfacing material within and without.

Each main casing member is substantially U-shaped and preferably comprises a vertical front flangeA part 16, frontwall part 17, horizontal top part, 1.8, vertical rear wall part 19, vertical rear flange part 20, horizontal' shelf part 21 and upturned edge 22. Each auxiliary casing plateY comprises a horizontal bottom part 23 and downturned front and rear flanges 24 and 425. Y.

Each main casing'member is provided,

preferably by punching and reaming, with a series of predetermined spaced slots 26, by which communication may be had with valve boxes 27. Each main casing member is also provided with a series of smaller holes 28, one hole being bored or punched in the space between each pair of slots 26, to receive suitable pins or headed bolts 29, by

which the valve boxes 27 are individually or severally secured in place with respect to the wind chests, each bolt passing between two adjacent valve boxes, and a washer 30 secured by a nut 31 on the end of each bolt 29, overlapping each adjacent valve box, and pressing thereagainst when the nut is tightened.

A series of holes 32 is punched through the front flange part 16 and adjacent flange 24, below and corresponding with the series of slots 26, and a similar series of holes 33, in alinement with the series of holes 32, is punched in the rear flange part or support 20 and adjacent flange or support 25. These series of holes accommodate the metallic tubes 34, communicating with the valve boxes at one end and the tracker board 36 at the other end, the tubes being preferably each of one piece, connected at an intermediate point by a strengthening strip 37, 'of' inverted V shape in cross-section, and preferably secured thereto, and to the tracker board and flange portions by solder. rllhe tracker tubes are thus led close to the valve boxes without a break necessitating packing.

Each of the pneumatics 35 is supported and secured in place by having one end attached to its valve box and the other end attached to the shelf part 21 by means of a screw 38, passed through one of a series of holes 39. The valve box and corresponding pneumatic maycthus be easily removed by loosening the nut 31 and screw 38 and slipping the pneumatic free from its operated rod 50, leaving the tracker tubing in place and the wind chests untouched. The only place which may require any packing or Afelt is the Contact face of the valve box which rests against the wind chest. It will be seen that the upper pneumatics are arranged in groups, and that the intermediate columns 14 are arranged between the groups or in the spaces between said groups.

Each end cheek is secured to the adjacent ends of the wind chests by joint structures, each comprising an outturned flange or collar 40, surrounding a communicating orilice 41 and fittedtight or soldered to the adjacent wind'chest end, the joint being covered and reinforced by a flanged bushing 42 fitted tight or soldered to the adjacent part of the cheek and valve chest end.

The cheeks are closed at top and bottom by flanged end pieces or plates 43, rest on support 44, and communicate with the exi haust apparatus through pipes 45.

Around each vertical column 14 is bent and clamped a split threaded bolt 46 the ends of the bolt being secured together by a nut 47, and a. shield or hood 48 being secured in place on the projecting ends of the bolt by a thumb screw 49, the shield or hood serving to protect the apparatus from external injury and dust on the front side and improving the appearance of the piano when the piano front isopen.

lVe purpose making each tube preferably of one integral piece and securing it air tight at each end and permanently in place. It will be observed that the wind chests, cheeks, valve boxes and pneumatics are assembled in compact arrangement and strucducing the apparatus 1t may be stated that sheet material of suitable size is placed under a heavy die and pressed into shape .for the main casing member and auxiliary casing plate of the wind-chest. The main casing member is then passed 'through automatic punches and the numerous slots and holes punched and reamed. The pins or headed bolts 29 may then be inserted and soldered in place if desired. VThe auxiliary casing plate is then positioned and Vsoldered and the two series of tube receiving holes punched. The tracker tubes may then be cut to length, inserted in place and soldered. The tracker tubes may be then alternately led by either side of the supporting strip 37 and soldered thereto and their ends secured to the tracker board, the tracker board support having been mounted previously, if desired. The attachment of the valve boxes and pneumatics may follow and eventually the shield or hood secured as already described. The` method is subject to variations owing to the number of steps involved. Y

It is obvious that by a compound striking up process the main casing member and the auxiliary casing plate of the wind-chest may be made from one piece of material as indicated in Fig. 7. The material used is the same however and there are practical reasons for preferring the making of the plates from separate pieces of material. llVe regard both ways as within the scope of our invention.

Having thus described our invention the following is what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a metal wind-chest and tracker tube structure comprising two wind-chests, hollow end cheeks communicating therewith, bracing columns connecting said wind-chests, tracker tubes, said parts being permanently connected together, and pneumatics arranged in spaced groups on said wind-chest, said columns being located in the spaces between said groups.

.ln a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a metal windchestl and tracker tube structure, comprising two wind-chests, hollow end cheeks communicating therewith, bracing columns connecting said windchests, two series of tracker tubes and tracker tube supports, said parts being permanently connected together, and pneumatics attached to said tracker tube supports, each series of said tubes extending between its corresponding wind-chest and pneumatics.

3. ln a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a sheet metal wind-chest casing member comprising successively a front flange, front wall, top, rear wall, rear downward extension, and supporting shelf, all arranged in sequence in 4the order named, said front wall, top and rear wall, constituting three sides of the wind-chest proper, and said shelf and said flange and downward extension being outside of the windchest proper, and a bottom between said front and rear walls and above said liange and extension.

4. in a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a sheet metal wind-chest casing member comprising successively a front flange, lfront wall, top, rear wall, rear downward extension, and supporting shelf having an upturned edge, all arranged in sequence in the order named, said front wall, top and rear wall, constituting three sides of the wind-chest proper', and said shelf and said ange and downward extension being outside of the wind-chest proper, and a bottom between said front and rear walls and above said flange and extension.

5.111 a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a wind-chest and tube-support having depending reinforced front and rear flanges each provided with a series of tracker tube receiving and alining holes.

6. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a sheet metal wind-chest and tube-support having depending reinforced integral front and rear flanges each provided with perforations constituting a series of tracker tube receiving and alining holes.

7. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a sheet metal wind-chest comprising a main casing memberl forming three sides of said chest, and an auxiliary channeled casing plate between two parallel side Walls of said main member, the flanges of said channeled plate and the edge portions of said main member together constituting reinforced front and rear flanges for said chest.

8. In a pneumatically-opera'ted musical apparatus, a sheet metal Wind-chest having dependent front and rear flanges and stiftening members connecting said flanges outside of said chest.

9. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a Wind-chest and tube-support having a reinforced flange provided With openings for the tubes.

' 10. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a vvind-chest having reinforced parallel flanges, in combination with tracker tubes and pneumatics supported by said flanges.

11. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a sheet metal wind-chest having reinforced, parallel, and integral flanges, in combination With tracker tubes and pneumatics supported by said flanges.

12. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a vWind-chest havingreinforced front and rea-r flanges, in combination With tracker tubes supported by said flanges, and pneumatics supported by said rear flange.

13. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a Wind-chest having reinforced depending front and rear flanges, in combination With tracker tubes and pneumatics supported by said flanges, and pneumatics supported by said rear flange.

14. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, a Wind-chest and tube-support having a reinforced depending flange provided With openings, in combination With tracker tubes extending into said openings and pneumatics supported by said flange.

In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, means for securing an action protecting shield or hood in position comprising supports on the Wind-chest and split threaded c ve-bolts-having the eye portions encircling said supports and the threaded portions passing through holes in the shield 0r hood.

16. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, means for securing an action protecting shield or hood in position comprising supports on the Wind-chest, split threaded eye-bolts having the eye portions encircling said supports and the threaded portions passing through holes in the shield or hood and a thumb screw for retaining the shield or hood.

17. In a pneumatically operated musical apparatus, means for securing an action protecting shield or hood in position comprising supports on the Wind-chest, split threaded eye-bolts having the eye portions encircling said supports and the threaded portions passing through holes in the shield or hood, and an adjusting nut and securing thumb screw on said threaded portions.

JOHN P. EUSTIS. ALBERT T. BROW'N.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

